Pickup Craps – Tips and Plans: The Background of Craps
Be clever, play clever, and learn how to play craps the ideal way!
Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is approximately 100 years old. Current craps developed from the 12th Century Anglo game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the birth of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s paladins played Hazard through a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.
Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the British, the French relocated south and located sanctuary in southern Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s believed that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which is gotten from the name of the losing toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and throughout the nation. Most consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In 1907, Winn created the current craps layout. He put in place the Do not Pass line so players can bet on the dice to not win. Later, he created the spaces for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.